Questions & Answers about Ég geri þetta sjálfur.
What does geri mean, and why isn’t it gera?
Gera is the infinitive (to do / to make). Geri is the 1st person singular present tense form, so ég geri = I do / I make.
Conjugation (present tense):
- ég geri
- þú gerir
- hann/hún/það gerir
- við gerum
- þið gerið
- þeir/þær/þau gera
Is Ég always required, or can you drop the subject like in Spanish?
In standard Icelandic, the subject pronoun is usually kept: Ég geri þetta…
You can omit ég in short answers, diary style, or very informal/context-heavy speech, but Icelandic is not a regular “pro-drop” language like Spanish. Most of the time, include ég.
What case is ég, and how do cases work here?
Ég is nominative (the subject form of I). In this sentence:
- ég (nominative) = the doer
- þetta (accusative) = what is being done/made
Icelandic marks grammatical roles with case more than English does.